The Japan division of Hong Kong-based blockchain and game investment firm Animoca Brands has received $45 million at a $500 million pre-money valuation, the parent business stated on August 26, as reported by Cryptoslate.
According to a press release, Animoca Brands KK, the Japanese subsidiary, will use the additional funds to acquire licences for well-known intellectual properties, enhance internal capabilities, encourage partners to adopt Web 3.0, and support the establishment of the non-fungible tokens (NFTs) ecosystem in Japan.
Animoca Brands Corporation Limited and MUFG Bank, a division of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, each contributed an equal amount to the investment. A handful of the many investments in Animoca Brands’ portfolio are the blockchain game businesses Axie Infinity and Dapper Labs, as well as the NFT marketplace Opensea, Cryptoslate noted.
In a March press release, Animoca Brands KK stated that it was thinking about working with MUFG on NFT-related projects. Japan is one of the richest locations for NFT enterprises trying to secure IPs due to the abundance of popular anime, manga, and video game IPs.
The nation now maintains a strict taxation regime for bitcoin earnings, nevertheless. Businesses in Japan are subject to a 30% tax, while personal income taxes can reach 55%.
To prevent the outflow of cryptocurrency firms to more profitable jurisdictions like Singapore, the Japanese government is considering lowering the tax rates for the following year. Nevertheless, NFTs are becoming more and more popular among Japanese firms, Cryptoslate added.
In conjunction with blockchain startup HashPort, banking behemoth Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp announced in July that it will establish a “Token Business Lab” to offer institutional clients advice on NFT applications. In April 2022, the Japanese social media site Line debuted its own NFT marketplace.
(With insights from Cryptoslate)
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